Nearly one year after completing their first new Bike & Ride facility at the Sunset Transit Center, TriMet cut the ribbon on two more this morning: one at the Beaverton Transit Center and other at Gresham Central.

TriMet GM Neil McFarlane.

A special ribbon-cutting event was held at the Beaverton location, which is the largest Bike & Ride facility in TriMet’s system.

Prior to the event, I asked McFarlane how this project fits into the ongoing issue of bike capacity (or lack thereof) on MAX trains. “There’s only so much space on the [rail] cars, no matter how many hooks we put on there,” he said, “If we’re really going to have a lot of cycling access to the MAX system we need to have a different way to solve the problem.”

Judging from the $1.4 million in federal stimulus funds TriMet just spent on three Bike & Rides (not to mention the similar facilities on the Portland State University campus), one way they plan to solve that problem is to encourage people to leave their bikes behind and take the train for the last leg of their trip.

The facility sits at the western edge of the Beaverton Transit Center along SW Lombard Avenue.

They picked the Beaverton Transit Center because it’s the number one access point for bike-riding MAX customers, with a total of 12% of all MAX riders at this location bringing their bikes, according to TriMet’s Carolyn Young.

“This is where the biggest demand is,” Young explained to me, “This is close enough to a lot of big employers out here that we’re really hopeful people will leave their bikes.”

For Young, a self-described “older woman cyclist,” the new Bike & Ride also beats out lugging her bike onto the train. “I don’t like lifting my street bike with packs up onto the hooks on the train. It’s heavy and I’d never try it during rush hour.”

Barbara Chapnick using the card access system.

A similar sentiment was expressed by Barbara Chapnick. Chapnick is the Chair of the City of Beaverton Bicycle Advisory Committee. During a speech this morning she described how she works in downtown Portland and the new Bike & Ride gives her more choices.

“Up until now,” she told the crowd of onlookers, media, and assorted bureaucrats, “I did not feel comfortable in leaving my bike at this transit center to MAX to Downtown.”

Chapnick was the honorary first customer of the new facility. She walked up to the gated entry with her bike in one hand and BikeLink access card in the other. She put her card in, pushed a button, and in she went.

The facility itself if nicely designed. Inside the cage is light and airy, yet it feels completely secure (it’s also got video surveillance). Outside the cage, TriMet smartly added a row of standard bike staple racks, which require no special card to use and are sheltered from the rain (although being away from the main bus/train station area could make them a target for thieves).

A big bonus at the Beaverton Bike & Ride is the new bike repair station unveiled by TriMet this morning. Made by Dero Racks, the “Fixit” bike repair stand, a good selection of basic tools, and an air pump. (I’d love to see these repair stands pop up at bike corrals citywide.)

Another topic of conversation at the event this morning is how this large and attractive bike parking facility might spur new bike connections in the surrounding area. Besides the new bike lanes on Lombard leading into the Beaverton Transit Center, Washington County Commission Chair Andy Duyck mentioned that this gives added urgency to “Crescent Connection Project.” That project envisions a 12 mile, $12 million trail that would connect the Fanno Creek Trail in Tigard with the transit center.

Duyck, during his speech today, commented that the new Bike & Ride is indicative of a “sea change” in Washington County transportation culture. “It’s different way of looking at things than we’ve looked at them in the past… to realize that bike and pedestrian facilities are part of the overall transportation system.”

With more “small investments,” like this one, Duyck said, it means the County “doesn’t have to put in a much larger investment in more and wider roads.”

Funding and technicalities aside, for citizen activist Barbara Chapnick, it’s what this new facility symbolizes that makes it so important. “It certainly makes a profound statement about the City of Beaverton,” she said, “You are valued, your bike property is valued and your bike does belong!”

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This is awesome. Really ought to have one at gateway too. Now we just need bike share in downtown portland to complement it.

On a slight side note I think it’s kinda odd that Beaverton is going for a $12m Fanno creek trail extension when a cheap portland style bikeway on King and Alger with a nice two way cycletrack on that short stretch of Denny would do the same job for way less money.

This is great! No one in their right mind would leave their bike there any other way. It’s been a few years since I biked there, but seems like they used to have very little in the way of bike parking so this is a great addition.

Customers only have to pay to use the enclosed area. Charging a minimal fee for usage is a practical way to keep the space from being used for bikes left for a long time or abandoned – similar to what towing fees do for Park & Rides.

What measures are taken to prevent similar behavior among auto drivers?
I’ve heard, anecdotally, that locals will use a major park-and-ride for long term storage of their vehicle rather than pay for long term storage parking at PDX airport.
Maybe some drivers are arriving at the Sunset park-and-ride at crazy early times when it is empty but the few times I’ve been there it seems like some autos are permanent fixtures in certain spots.

Surrounding this ‘bike and ride’, there are many residences within a 10–15 minute travel time by bike. Most of the terrain within that radius is flat. So, those simple non-racing type bikes like the wallyworld ‘Dutch’ OPA bike featured last week in a bikeportland story could be adequate for regular Trimet customers living within this radius.

I’m hoping people will use this facility instead of driving to, or being driven to and dropped off at the Beaverton transit center. Hang around a bit there, and a lot of the drop-off activity can be seen.

Any optimism associated with those hopes would probably be taken with caution though. For awhile last winter, going into spring, I did some periodic checking of how many people were using the racks outside the Beaverton Library(the Beaverton Library is situated amidst extensive residential neighborhoods.). In the forums, I created a thread to keep a record of this informal observation. Wherever those people that do ride to the library are riding from, it quickly became clear that very few people are willing to ride to the library rather than drive.

This is awesome. It’s great that Trimet is doing this, however, they need to start charging for car parking. Garage spots like the ones at Sunset TC cost $10,000 to $20,000 to build, and are given away for free. This is a subsidy to auto users, and it’s ridiculous that bikes have to pay, while cars take up much more space and park for free.

Some might say that if you charge to park a bike at the transit center, it would encourage people to just drive their cars to the park-and-ride, thereby negating the benefits of keeping cars out of the lot and off the roads.

Great, as soon as i get to have my car “secured” against break-ins and theft, ill pay too. Park-and-rides are a disaster area for break-ins and theft. Why don’t i get to pay .30 a day to prevent that?!

Is it not true that when Tri Met first spoke of building facilities like this, it was a step (by them) towards less bikes on trains and transit?
I recall encouragement of having a bike at each end of transit, etc……

So here now there is a charge to not take your bike on the train, where as it does not cost extra to take it with you……….

I went over to the bike and ride facility to look at it first hand. It’s a great looking, simply constructed building…very nice, open interior space to park bikes in.

As I mentioned in the earlier post, the Beaverton Transit Center is surrounded by many residents that could very conveniently use the ‘bike and ride’ to save some time and effort walking, or from having someone drive them over to the MAX or WES. Whether they’ll seriously give it a try though, is a big question. Especially during Oregon’s dark, cold months.

TriMet needs to increase person capacity that’s for sure. In China, they just have a person outside with white gloves shoving folks into Train cars. I get off work at 5 or 5:30pm and trying to get on a car at Pioneer Square is challenging let alone w/bike. I choose not to clutter the cars with my bike unless I really have to.

So the issue is INCREASING CAPACITY for everyone on those trains. Or increase the number of trains.

I think they are trying to reduce the # of bikes on the trains now but honestly, I can understand why.

But really, they should have a car JUST for bikes.

But then we are not in a perfect world. SO for me, I dont need the bike when I get downtown to work. Now I can park it at BTC Bike and Ride facility. One less bike in the TRAIN. It is fine with me 🙂

“…But really, they should have a car JUST for bikes. …” Barbara Chapnick

Sounds good on the face of it, but it’s a puzzle how that would realistically work out. How often would such a train run? If there were such a train running once every 2hrs, or even every hour, how many people in terms of capacity, would use it?

Seems like Trimet could do some experimenting though; strip the seats out of some older equipment, make it a ‘Standing Only-Bike Priority’ car. Run the train for 2-3 months (if the city can close a street for 2-3 month street cafe, without costing a fortune, maybe there’s a way it could run a test project train car for awhile.). See what kind of usage results.

It wouldn’t be practical to have a car just for bikes. The trains are already at their maximum length (unless they spend $3 billion to build a downtown tunnel and lengthen all other platforms), so adding a bike car would require removing a car from the train. I agree that they do need higher frequencies, particularly during rush hour.

Trimet wouldn’t have to add a car, making a three car train, which would, as you’ve noted, be too long for city blocks and so forth. To run a test project, the transit agency would only have to occasionally run a special car. It could even be a single car, which trimet seems to occasionally run.

With the bike and ride, even given the high expense, I’m glad that Trimet is at least trying options like this. Same with the WES. The agency has only built three bike and rides so far, and at least at this point, it’s not as though it’s probably going to be building more ‘DMU’s…I think that’s the acronym for ‘diesel motive unit’…lines all over the metro area. These are tests. If you don’t try possibly good ideas out, chances of finding whether they’ll ever work or not, are poor.

Take the old high floor rail cars.
Remove all seating, rails and handholds from one half.
Change visual appearance and color scheme of empty area so that it is obvious to the public that this area is preferentially for transport of human powered vehicles.

Sunset bike and ride users should be allowed to bus and max for free to promote usage. I rode up there from the new Beaverton bike and ride and sure as hell wouldn’t want to climb that hill everyday, especially in office attire. Riding downhill would be fun. I counted 6 bikes in the cage.

Trimet should promote 4 wheeled folding scooters — four wheels because of stability and rain, cheap, faster than walking, and no costly infrastructure.

“…I rode up there from the new Beaverton bike and ride and sure as hell wouldn’t want to climb that hill everyday, especially in office attire. …” marshmallow

Most of the neighborhoods within in a 10-15 minute bike ride radius from the Sunset ‘bike and ride’ are located on hilly terrain. People making such a bike ride are going to sweat a little, but it seems as though that’s the idea in this overfed, under exercised U.S.

Even with hills, in 10-15 minutes of riding, except for people that are very out of shape, they’re not going to be sweating that much. With a bit of help and advice, people wishing to avoid sweating up office clothes can learn how to set up the bike with a removable pannier or other gear carrying accessory, to carry the office clothes and maybe a washcloth, to freshen up once they get to work.

The bigger obstacle is winter, when it’s cold, dark and damp. Sitting in a nice, warm, cozy car with the radio on, can be very appealing when it’s 40 degrees and raining. On those days…complimentary hot coffee or hot chocolate, waiting for them at the ‘bike and ride’ exclusively for people that commute by bike, might be quite an incentive.

I like how they say its “totally secure.” There is no such thing. Someone will buy an access card using a stolen credit card, then enter and go shopping. Cameras don’t mean much to most thieves. Neat idea, but I still think individual lockers are better, and probably cheaper, too.

Beaverton TC will be MUCH better than Sunset TC for a bike-and-ride. I’m sure it will be many times more successful.

Bike capacity on the trains will always be a problem, but I am disappointed TriMet’s response is that since adding capacity will never COMPLETELY solve the problem we shouldn’t bother adding any capacity. Still, I’m glad for this baby step.

I love the idea of a bike car on the train, but I think it would generate a political firestorm. As a commuter who does need to get over the West Hills daily, what I’d really like to see is someone other than TriMet run a bike-oriented van shuttle between downtown Portland and Beaverton. All you’d need is a van, a trailer with racks, and parking lots on each end where the thing could stop to let people on and off. I might even pay 5 bucks for it.

The great idea about installing the bike stand, tools, and bike pump outside the cage is that it allows everyone an opportunity(poor people) to maintain their bikes too. There’s a headset wrench and even a star socket allen wrench for god knows what since I’ve never encountered that type of nut on a bicycle. Also the bike racks outside the cage are under overhead cover and cameras are trained on the whole lot. This is where the magnas, x-mart schwinns, hollandias and nexts are stored. The cage doubles as pet storage since Tri-met hates those too.

Dabby
Is it not true that when Tri Met first spoke of building facilities like this, it was a step (by them) towards less bikes on trains and transit?
I recall encouragement of having a bike at each end of transit, etc……
So here now there is a charge to not take your bike on the train, where as it does not cost extra to take it with you……….
I smell fish…

Is that a fair summary of considerations leading up to exploring use of the ‘bike and ride’ idea? Simple fact is, that in a confined space such as the interior of a train car, bikes take up a lot space, and they’re awkward to weave in and out of a crowded train. If bikes posed no more challenge to accommodate than rolling luggage carry-ons, the trains could probably meet other customers needs and carry lots of bikes too.

Actually, that’s why I kind of wish more people would get themselves set up with folding bikes. Last winter, performance bicycle had the Dahon Curve on sale for $300 (basically, half price.).

More space for bicycles should be included on every new train. Plus it is not unfeasible to retrofit the old trains for more bike space. But they won’t ever do that for us, their public.
(a bike only/train car by the way is just dumb and never gonna happen people)

You and Tri Met are on the same page though, with the “run out and buy another bike so more people can smash onto the train” concept.

But it is the wrong concept….

I for one am not leaving my bike at a “sort of” secure facility(meaning I am not the only one with access), for a fee, when I can take it with me for the same price, and use it effectively at the other end of the commute.

“… the “run out and buy another bike so more people can smash onto the train” concept. …Dabby

Again…what I suggested, is that some Trimet customers could do well with a folding bike…not a conventional bike… point being, that a folding bike takes up far less room on the train than does a regular bike. Many folding bikes break down into a parcel size that wouldn’t compromise seating layouts or impede passenger flow about the train floor. The folding bike would maybe fit under the seat or just in front of it, under the passengers knees.

Probably only a small percentage of Trimet riders using a bike for part of their commute could get by with a folding bike instead of a conventional bike, but it would be good to encourage such riders.

These people wouldn’t be “…more…” people to pack onto the train during rush hour, or during events…about the only time the trains are filled to capacity. These would be people that are already riding the train. The bike would help them from having to walk home or have someone drive to pick them up.

Trimet could make more space for conventional, as opposed to folding bikes on the trains. The reality is though, that such additional space would probably never be sufficient to accommodate a lot of passengers with bikes. Because conventional bikes take up a lot of room on the train, and because it’s awkward for other people to move around them on the train, the transit agency couldn’t probably ever accommodate large numbers of passengers that, if they could, would bring their bike on the train because they use the bike for part of their commute.

That is, unless Trimet experimented and found their was sufficient call for special trains.

By the way…the tone of your comment is unnecessarily rude and insulting.

I appreciate the desire to have a bike on both ends of the commute, but it’s just not practical to have that ability during the peak hour in the peak direction. Community pressure alone should be reason enough not to force your bike on a crowded train. No one wants to have a bike squeeze next to them when they are dressed for work and it’s extremely rude to force one on a crowded train. While some may choose to force their bikes on a crowded train, I think the rest of the population who have more sensible social skills would find this useful. I don’t even force myself on a crowded train, let alone a full size bike. If I lived or worked further from a station, I’d definitely use a bike and ride. But for now, I’m just one of those walk access people on a crowded train in the way of someone’s bike.

Kudos to TriMet for the new bike park at Beaverton Transit Center. It’s high time they made such a bold step, and not easy to do in today’s political / economic climate.

In my very humble opinion, the Beaverton area has a LONG way to go to make cycling safe & attractive for riders. The west-side bike path that runs parallel to the Sunset Highway was a huge step, creating a viable, safe thoroughfare for riders.

But the biggest glaring holes in Beaverton’s plan relates to the lack of bike lanes on both Canyon Road and Beaverton Hillsdale Highway. Noted: both roads are state highways, and fall (mostly) under the auspices of the State of Oregon, but geezus…has anyone tried to ride (or even WALK) on portions of Canyon Road lately??

Heading south/southwest from the traffic light at Canyon Lane (just south of Hwy 26) after the exit off the Sunset Hwy, say goodbye to the bike lane AND sidewalks. Sidewalks recommence from the Goodwill store to the Infinity dealership, then disappear for a good stretch where walking/running becomes a survival crapshoot.

Riding? From the Canyon Lane light onward into the heart of Beaverton, may the force be with you, because the traffic gods will not be with you! Shame on you, State of Oregon, and cities of Portland/Beaverton for failing to address this issue. I’ll repeat: Much of this was addressed by the west-side bike lane, but tell that to someone who lives south of Canyon and north of Beaverton Hillsdale…what’s the most efficient and time effective way to say, ride to the Beaverton Transit Center to use the park & ride? Canyon Road, which is highly dangerous to ride upon.

Beaverton/Hillsdale is another situation altogether. From the crazy Scholls/Olsen intersection, bike lanes appear, disappear, and the massively high travel speeds of vehicular traffic (not always, but usually in excess of posted limits) make it another crapshoot. BHH has better sidewalks for pedestrians than Canyon, but riding it (try navigating even short stretches with your kids on bikes some day!) will make you think twice about buying extra life insurance.

Apologies for the long rant. Again, kudos to TriMet…shame, shame for Beaverton’s/Oregon’s lack of initiative on the Canyon/BHH issue.

In response to your concerns on BHH and Canyon Rd, I agree. However there are many alternate routes. 5th Street Connection takes you from Western Ave all the way west beyond Murray Blvd. Millikan Way parallels Canyon and you can take that as well. Have a look at the newly published Bike Beaverton Map available at any bike store for free for ‘alternative routes’. Yes the city has obstacles. But until that changes, take alternative routes and be aware new changes to Canyon Rd will take place over the next fews years, as a part of the Active Transportation Plan along with the Community Vision project to re-vitalize Canyon Rd and calm traffic and make it more bike and ped friendly.

“…the Beaverton area has a LONG way to go to make cycling safe & attractive for riders. …” G

I get what you’re saying. Beaverton Transit Center (or other neighboring destinations.) being the destination, for bike travel, east bound from Canyon Lane to the transit center on Canyon Rd is only for the strong of heart. Partial option: consult map, leave Canyon turning north at 108th, weave around Polsky-Cabot-Center to Lombard. Climbs, but they’re not bad at all.

I dream of the city establishing a downtown Beaverton/transit center bike route using Polsky-Cabot-Center, then going up through the neighborhoods north of Walker rather than Walker and then up Canyon itself to West Slope. Not that that would ever happen; Cul-de-sacs would have to be opened up, property easements negotiated for.

Parallel route options south of Beav/Hillsdale, I’m not so familiar with. Barbara’s right about 5th being good to good to ride. Crossing Farmington, Main and Canyon just before getting to the transit center is doable, but can be intimidating. Milikan Way is also good.

Today is the 4th day I have ridden my bicycle to the new Bike n Ride Facility in Beaverton and I can say that I feel very comfortable so far with my bike being locked inside the structure. The first day, I locked my helmet but took the mirror and computer off. The 2nd day I just left mirror and computer on. Every day I have been able to just ride with my “street clothes” and helmet 1 mile to transit, lock bike and MAX to work.

So far, it has been easy to use the access but I wish I would see more bikes parked there. We need the word to get out its useful and a good idea.

Rode by for a look-see at 4pm. Two bikes in the bike and ride. Maybe 10-15 on a couple outside racks I glimpsed around the transit center.

Card lock, video monitoring, fenced enclosure might suggest good enough security to leave on the bike, easily detachable bike accessories such as computers and lights. Most likely isn’t though. Don’t tempt desperate or ambitious thieves. Take what stuff you can, with you. If it’s a short trip to the transit center, use two U-locks to secure your bike. It’s nice having an out of the rain parking area for bikes, with separated racks so your bike isn’t jammed up against others. I don’t see though, that bike and parks of this type are very much more secure than the racks outside the shelter.

I’m glad to see that TriMet is doing something to alleviate the problem. I personally got fed up of trying to take my bike on the MAX, and when I got fed up of the 20 minute walk between the MAX and work, I stopped taking it altogether. I live downtown, and if I could leave my bike overnight at the work end of my trip, I would love that.

I think that there needs to be several more of these facilities in order for “critical mass” to be reached. The one at STC is a bit of a joke, for terrain and location reasons. BTC is a bit better, but many people here mentioned how unfriendly the roads are around BTC. It’s not until you have a few downtown locations, and locations near major employers (Nike, Intel) that you’ll really see people make use of this.